Already dealing with federal-court litigation in Texas, 3M’s Bair Hugger warming now faces claims filed in Kansas Federal District Court (Case 2:14-cv-02044). The complaint alleges that the surgical device caused an infection during joint-replacement surgery. The plaintiff, Timothy Johnson, allegedly became infected with Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), leading to amputation of his leg. According to the complaint, he implantation of Johnson’s artificial knee occurred at The University of Kansas Hospital in September 2010, and Bair Hugger warming was used during the surgery.

The Texas case, lodged in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas, Houston Division, is Walton v. 3M, Civil Action No. H-13-1164.

Mike Sexton, Kansas City personal injury attorney, represents Johnson. Sexton has repeatedly been listed by The Best Lawyers in America and named to Superlawyers of Kansas and Missouri. David Hodges of Kennedy Hodges, the Houston firm that filed the initial case, is also listed as counsel for Johnson.

The Bair Hugger system blows heated air on a patient’s exposed skin. According to the complaint, the hot air accumulates under the surgical drape and escapes below the level of the surgical table. This escaped air, the complaint alleges, creates warm, rising, airflow currents that deposit bacteria from the floor of the surgical room into the surgical site.

3M, the complaint alleges, knew about the risks that Bair Hugger poses to patients, but has made no attempt to redesign the product or to warn healthcare providers of the risks. The complaint states that 3M has “taken every step to conceal and discredit any scientific studies which might undermine their sales.”

Dr. Scott Augustine, inventor of Bair Hugger warming, defends some uses of the device, claiming that it is “probably safe in soft-tissue surgeries. The risk to patients only occurs with implanted devices,” he says, “ like artificial joints. In those surgeries, a single bacteria landing on the device can secrete a biofilm, making it impervious to antibiotics and antibodies. The infection can erupt weeks later. In those cases, the pathogen usually arrives through the air.

More than 50,000 Bair Hugger warming units are currently in use across the country, and the technology is used in most joint replacement surgeries. Several plaintiffs’ firms have begun advertising for patients potentially injured by Bair Hugger.

Dr. Scott Augustine invented the patient warming field, when he pioneered forced-air warming 25 years ago. Since then, hundreds of millions of patients have received the benefits of normothermia during surgery. Due to concerns with patient safety in ultra-clean surgeries, Dr. Augustine and his team of engineers sought to create an alternative warming solution to meet the needs of the healthcare community. Air-free warming is produced by Augustine Temperature Management.